A circumstance occurred lately, which may help to open Dar-Fūr to Europeans. The Sitteh (Lady) Sowakin, the aunt of Sultan Adah, the present monarch of that kingdom, is a zealous Moslem, and lately determined to make a pilgrimage to the grave of the Prophet. She arrived in Khartoum in August, 1851, attended by a large retinue of officers, attendants and slaves, and after remaining a few days descended the Nile to El Mekheyref, crossed the Desert to Sowakin, on the Red Sea, and sailed thence for Djidda, the port of Mecca. During her stay Lattif Pasha was exceedingly courteous to her, introducing her to his wives, bestowing upon her handsome presents, and furnishing her with boats and camels for her journey. Dr. Reitz availed himself of the occasion to make the people of Dar-Fūr better acquainted with Europeans. All the Frank residents assembled at his house, in Christian costume, and proceeded to the residence of the Lady Sowakin. They found her sitting in state, with two black slaves before her on their hands and knees, motionless as sphinxes. On each side stood her officers and interpreters. She was veiled, as well as her female attendants, and all exhibited the greatest surprise and curiosity at the appearance of the Franks. The gifts they laid before her—silks, fine soaps, cosmetics, bon-bons, &c.—she examined with childish delight, and when the Consul informed her that the only object of the Europeans in wishing to enter Dar-Fūr was to exchange such objects as these for gum and elephants’ teeth, she promised to persuade Sultan Adah to open his kingdom to them.
The next day her principal officers visited the Consul’s house, and spent a long time examining its various wonders. The pictures, books and furniture filled them with astonishment, and they went from one object to another, like children, uttering exclamations of surprise and delight. What most startled them was a box of lucifer matches, which was entirely beyond their comprehension. They regarded the match with superstitious awe, and seemed to consider that the fire was produced by some kind of magic. Their relation of what they saw so excited the curiosity of the Lady Sowakin, that she came on the following day, with her women. She was no less astonished than her attendants had been, but was most attracted by the Consul’s large mirror. She and her women spent half an hour before it, making gestures, and unable to comprehend how they were mimicked by the reflected figures. As she was unacquainted with its properties, she threw back her veil to see whether the image would show her face. The Consul was standing behind her, and thus caught sight of her features; she was black, with a strongly marked but not unpleasant countenance, and about forty-five years of age. He had a breakfast prepared for the ladies, but on reaching the room the attendants all retired, and he was informed that the women of rank in Dar-Fūr never eat in the presence of the men. After they had finished the repast, he observed that they had not only partaken heartily of the various European dishes, but had taken with them what they could not eat, so that the table exhibited nothing but empty dishes. When they left, the Lady reiterated her promise, and added that if the Consul would visit Dar-Fūr, the Sultan would certainly present him with many camel-loads of elephants’ teeth, in consideration of his courtesy to her.
To the westward of Dar-Fūr, and between that country and Bornou, lies the large kingdom of Waday, which has never been visited by a European. I learned from some Kordofan merchants, who had visited the frontiers of Dar-Fūr on their trading expeditions, that Sultan Adah had conquered a great part of Waday, and would probably soon become involved in war with the Sultan of Bornou. It is said that there is in the country of Waday a lake called Fittre, which is a hundred and fifty miles in length, and receives several rivers. At the south-western extremity of Dar-Fūr, in lat. 6° N. there is a small country, called Fertit. I often heard it mentioned by the Ethiopian traders, one of whom showed me a snuff-box, which he had bought of a native of the country. It was made from the hard shell of a fruit about the size of an orange, with a stopper roughly wrought of silver. Almost the entire region south of lat. 10° N. and lying between the White Nile and the Gulf of Guinea is unknown ground, and presents a rich field for future explorers.
The difficulties and dangers which have hitherto attended the path of African discovery, are rapidly diminishing, and the time is not far distant when every mystery, hidden in the heart of that wonderful Continent, will be made clear. Where a traveller has once penetrated, he smoothes the way for those who follow, and that superior intelligence which renders the brute creation unable to bear the gaze of a human eye, is the defence of the civilized man against the barbarian. Bruce, journeying from Abyssinia to Egypt, in the year 1772, was beset by continual dangers, and even Burckhardt, in 1814, though successfully disguised as a Mussulman shekh, or saint, was obliged to keep his journal by stealth. At present, however, a Frank may travel in comparative safety, from Cairo to the borders of Dar-Fūr and Abyssinia, while the White Nile and its tributaries afford avenues to the very heart of the unexplored regions beyond. The climate is the greatest obstacle in the way of discovery, and the traveller whose temperament is best adapted for the heats of the inter-tropical zone, possesses the best chance of success.
CHAPTER XXIV.
EXCURSIONS AND PREPARATIONS.
Excursions around Khartoum—A Race into the Desert—Euphorbia Forest—The Banks of the Blue Nile—A Saint’s Grave—The Confluence of the Two Niles—Magnitude of the Nile—Comparative Size of the Rivers—Their Names—Desire to penetrate further into Africa—Attractions of the White Nile—Engage the Boat John Ledyard—Former Restrictions against exploring the River—Visit to the Pasha—Despotic Hospitality—Achmet’s Misgivings—We set sail.
My morning rides with Dr. Reitz, around Khartoum, gradually extended themselves into the neighboring country, within the limits which a fast dromedary could reach in two hours’ travel. In this way I became familiar with the scenery along the banks of both Niles, and the broad arid plains between them. As I rarely appeared in public except in the Consul’s company, and attended with all the state which his household could command, I was looked upon by the inhabitants as a foreign prince of distinguished rank. The Pasha’s soldiers duly presented arms, and the people whom I met in the streets stopped and saluted me profoundly, as I passed. The Consul had succeeded in making a strong impression of his own power and importance, and this was reflected upon his guest. One morning, as we were riding towards the palace, a man cried out: “May God prolong your days, O Consul! and the days of the strange lord,—for you make a grand show with your horses, every day!”